Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 40: Xue Baochai’s thoughts are hard to understand when Wu Lang hits the official road

"Why is Sister Xue here?"

Looking at that face as flat as a lake, Baochai's heart tightened, and she quickly bowed down and said, "Fourth brother Jian, I——"

After all, this is a girl's family, so I can't bear to say it without shame.There was embarrassment on her face, and Li Weijian in front of her smiled and said: "Sister Xue, sit down and talk, Qingwen, go and pour tea for sister Xue."

Qingwen left with a stern face, while Baochai sat down anxiously, frowning and thinking about how to speak.

Li Weijian asked, "I heard that Sister Xue went to the Wang family yesterday?"

Baochai was thinking about it. Li Weijian mentioned it like this and opened up the conversation, so she could speak out: "That's right. I went to my uncle's house yesterday and met my aunt. I wanted to find some solution for family matters. There is a way. It's a pity that my uncle is not here, and my aunt is alone. After discussing it for a long time, I still can't find a way."

She raised her eyes and glanced at Li Weijian, but when she saw the young man listening attentively, without any trace of impatience on his face, her heart was twisted again.Such a person is really a rare good match, but she wants to be chosen in a small way. Even if the small choice fails, she will have to find a high branch to cling to, so as to protect the Xue family.

I was extremely anxious before with the foundation of Huangshang. Now that I am about to lose the foundation of Huangshang, I am even more anxious.Feeling angry, Baochai couldn't help coughing several times. It took a long time to stop coughing, but Qingwen came over with tea.

Li Weijian stood up, pushed the tea cup in front of her, and said warmly: "Sister Xue, don't be too hasty, things always come little by little. Let's use some tea first."

"Yes." Baochai took a few sips, suppressed his cough, and then said: "I have always known that Fourth Brother Jian is a capable person, but there is really no way at home, so I thought of coming to find Fourth Brother Jian." Discuss and discuss.”

Li Weijian said: "Sister Xue really thinks highly of me. In this situation, it's difficult for others to work as swordsmen and for me as fish and meat..." After a pause, he turned to say: "Ask me, sister Xue's family is doing it now. What kind of livelihood?"

Baochai said, "It's just a miscellaneous collection of treasures. There are roughly four in total: one is a pawn shop, and there are several in Jinling and the capital; the other is the old wood from deep mountains in Yunnan and Guangxi; the third is from Nanyang." spices; and finally, northern and southern medicinal herbs."

(Note [-])

Li Weijian was secretly stunned, this business is quite big.

Looking at Li Weijian's face, Baochai added: "Although there are many businesses and shops, since the death of his father, the shopkeepers and clerks below have become more and more cunning, and their income is getting less and less year by year. Now they only have a few thousand taels. But It will be enough to make a living, but when it comes to big things or small things, you will inevitably have to rest on your laurels.

Then there are the errands of the inner government. Every time I don't put some in there, I have to burn high incense. "

Li Weijian nodded, thought for a moment, and said: "Sister Xue, you might as well think of it this way. My sister's family's business is deteriorating. Even if I maintain the foundation of the imperial business this time, I can only maintain a bright appearance. My aunt, sister, and brother are not capable of running a business. There is no telling that this future will become less and less promising. If I accept the emperor's mission then, I'm afraid the Xue family's fortune will all be lost."

Baochai was shocked. Previously, she only thought about maintaining the foundation of the imperial merchants, otherwise she would inevitably face difficulties from the government when running her business in the future, but she had never thought about this.

Seeing him pondering, Li Weijian added: "As the saying goes, poverty leads to change, and change leads to prosperity. The Xue family has been a royal merchant for many generations, but their ancestors were descendants of Ziweishe. It's time for a change now."

Baochai smiled bitterly and said: "I know what Fourth Brother Jian said, but how can it be so easy to change?"

The Xue family has such a great reputation, but in the end they are just an imperial businessman.The children in the family are still unworthy, unlike the other children in the imperial merchants who study hard, so if they want to switch to the civil service route, they may not succeed.As for Wu Xun, the Xue family is very thin, and there is only an ineffective Xue Pan. How can you dare to let him go to the army to fight for wealth?
Li Weijian looked at the girl with a bitter look on her face, but saw that her temples were plucked up, she had a green walking stick, and she was wearing a plain coat with pink and red threads trimmed with silver. However, she didn't see a gold collar around her neck.

I couldn't help but think to myself that the necklace might have been planned by Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue.

Hearing Baochai's bitter words, Li Weijian said: "In my opinion, my sister might as well think about how to preserve the Xue family's fortune now. Except for the Kong family in Shandong and the Zhang family in Jiangxi, where in the world are there any aristocratic families that have lasted for thousands of years?
There is also a saying that a gentleman’s glory will be cut off after five lifetimes.It would be better for the Xue family to take advantage of this situation to settle down, buy a family school and land, and wait for the next generation to accumulate a lot of wealth. It is worse than struggling to maintain the foundation of the imperial business and being uneasy all day long, worrying about other people's plots. "

Hearing this, Baochai felt that Li Weijian was speaking sincerely.She raised her head and met those clear eyes, and her heartstrings couldn't help but be plucked again. She had to quickly lower her head and pretend to drink tea and think.

After a long time to calm down, he said: "What Fourth Brother Jian said makes sense." After a pause, he said: "That afternoon, the eldest lady came over and said that someone had given the eldest man a greeting card. What she said was unreasonable. It’s all for the Xue family’s royal business foundation.”

"Do you know the identity of that person?"

Baochai said, "It's Che Qinghe from Datong."

It is indeed this person!Li Weijian no longer had any doubts in his heart.He thought deeply and said: "Che Qinghe handed over the greeting card, he must have wanted to talk to the Xue family. The foundation of Huangshang is a rare thing, sister Xue... well, the Xue family might as well mark the price clearly, it is not easy to suffer a loss. "

Baochai said: "As of now, it has to be like this. Previously, the emperor's merchants basically transferred money to other places, and it always cost 3 taels of silver. The missions my family has taken on are not bad, and I can improve them even more if I think about it."

Dashun inherited the Ming system, there was no feudalism among the officials, but there was feudalism among the officials!

Officials at all levels in the prefecture, county and even the six yamen are replaced by their fathers after their fathers die or their sons change their hands before they retire. This is the top body silver.

Due to this trend, even the imperial merchants basically have a lot of money. Those who are not easy to dispatch will lose a lot of money, at least 3 taels; those with rich oil and water are difficult to calculate.

It is evident from this that Che Qinghe, who has a fortune of millions, had spent all his wealth to be a wealthy imperial businessman but could not be chosen.

Li Weijian then thought to himself that the Xue family, an imperial merchant, would have at least fifty, seventy or eighty thousand yuan.

Baochai on the opposite side had another thought in her heart.She originally preferred a man like Li Weijian, who was upright and upright. Her mother and brother had offended him to death before, so she shamelessly came to ask questions, but fourth brother Jian ignored the past and always thought of the Xue family.Comparing the two sides, the Xue family becomes more and more rude and condescending.

She only took advantage of Li Weijian's lowered head to drink tea and glanced at him intently, as if she wanted to imprint the man in front of her in her heart.

The foundation of the Xue family's royal business is gone this time, and defeat is only a matter of time, sooner or later. The only solution for now is to rely on the big tree, which can protect the Xue family from being devoured by the wolves, tigers and leopards outside.She and Fourth Brother Jian... were not destined to be together after all.

Li Weijian turned around and glanced over. Baochai hurriedly turned his head away, then covered his mouth with the handkerchief and coughed twice.

Baochai thought to herself, what's the harm in taking one more look and one less look?It's impossible after all.

So she stood up and said: "Thanks to Fourth Brother Jian for the advice, I now have a rough idea. I will discuss it later with my uncle and the eldest man. Since the foundation of the emperor's merchants cannot be maintained, we must ask for more money. I...I This is back."

Li Weijian stood up: "I'll see Sister Xue off."

"Brother Jian, please stay, it's not far away."

Baochai said so, but Li Weijian got up and sent him out of the small courtyard.

After returning to the main room, Qingwen, who was tidying up, curled her lips and said: "Young ladies are really willing to be shameless. Fourth Master," she suddenly looked at Li Weijian: "You are not interested in Miss Bao, are you?" "Huh?" Li Weijian, who had just sat down, was slightly surprised, then smiled and shook his head: "You are overthinking."

Baochai is good, but her family background is too bad.It's just Aunt Xue who is a housewife who blindly protects her children, and Xue Pan, the stupid overlord who doesn't hesitate to play around. With these two people around, if they get married, they may face endless troubles in the future.With Xue Pan's temperament, he might drag Li Weijian into trouble!
At this time, marriage depends not only on the person, but also on family status.Li Weijian didn't ask for wealth, but the family tradition certainly couldn't be like that of the Xue family.He and Baochai...if Xue Pan dies, they can consider it.

Furthermore, it also depends on Baochai’s intentions.Miss Bao is a thoughtful person...Well, let's see, he is only thirteen and Baochai is only twelve, so there is still a lot of time left.

Qingwen glanced suspiciously after hearing this, and then said: "It's okay if it's not... Although Miss Bao looks good, there are some problems in the Xue family... It's good that Fourth Master knows what he is doing."

Let's talk about Baochai returning to Lixiangyuan and repeating what Li Weijian said. Aunt Xue was moved by what she heard, but she still couldn't make up her mind.

In the evening, Jia Zheng, Jia She and Dongfu Jia Zhen gathered in Jia She's study to discuss Che Qinghe's delivery of the post. Aunt Xue knew that Xue Pan was unreliable, so she had no choice but to show her face and discuss with the three of them across the screen.

In the meantime, the eldest master Jia She was jumping up and down, the master Jia Zheng had no idea, and Jia Zhen of the East Mansion was different in seniority, and the other was a little far away from Aunt Xue. They only agreed with Jia Zheng's ideas a few times, but did not insist on it.

Aunt Xue saw that the overall situation had been decided. Although she was extremely reluctant to give up, she had no choice but to nod in recognition.The elder Jia She was immediately delighted, and he got the 2000 taels of silver!

He also thought that there was always room for negotiation on the basic price of the imperial merchant, so he volunteered to negotiate with Che Qinghe on behalf of the Xue family.Xu Shi had not been here long, and Aunt Xue didn't know the temperament of the old man. Seeing the warm-heartedness of the old man Jia She, Aunt Xue actually agreed on the spot.

After everyone dispersed, Jia Zheng didn't care about family ties, so he sent someone to mention Mrs. Wang, and Mrs. Wang hurriedly went to Lixiangyuan.

Said: "Sister, let's not mention the matter of Huangshang, Pan'er's case has not been closed yet!"

Aunt Xue suddenly came to her senses: "Ah? This... if someone takes advantage of this again in the future, what should I do?"

The four families of Jia Shi, King Xue, and the Jia family and the Wang family could only talk to each other in the military. Although the Shi family followed the civil service route, they were not close to the Ministry of Punishment.Aunt Xue and Mrs. Wang thought about it and found that only Li Weijian had a close relationship with Kou Yan Xiyao, the young secretary of the Ministry of Punishments!

But it's hard to lose face and ask Li Weijian again.The two sisters discussed for a while but couldn't find the right solution, and finally Mrs. Wang said: "One person is short of the other, I think we might as well talk to the eldest master, the master and Dongfu Zhen brother someday, and we must get this matter done properly." .”

Aunt Xue responded gloomily, but Baochai, who was sitting beside her, was moved in her heart.Thinking about it, it seems like I can see Fourth Brother Jian again.Then I had mixed feelings. I felt ashamed of Li Weijian, but also felt that I shouldn't think like this - after all, my brother was still carrying a lawsuit.

The next day, Li Weijian went to the Inner Palace Military Academy again early in the morning, but still didn't see King Zhongyong.Although the deposed prince was deposed and became a commoner, the matter involved the royal family, so the saint still relied on King Zhongyong, his brother who was a compatriot, to handle the internal affairs.

At noon, Li Weijian and Yan Fengzhen went to Yan's Mansion. Before Yan Xiyao returned, Wu Zhaosong, a doctor in the Military Academy, chased him.

After meeting and chatting for a while, Wu Zhaosong said: "This time, I took advantage of the resurrection. By the end of the year, I won't be able to do anything about it."

Li Weijian stopped, smiled and held his hands in his hands to congratulate him: "The student is here to congratulate me first. I wonder what the doctor's next step will be... or to go to the inner palace?"

Wu Zhaosong shook his head: "If you stay in the inner government, you may have to serve as deputy prime minister. It sounds nice, but in fact you are still in charge of the affairs of the Armed Forces Academy. I thought, I might as well transfer to the Ministry of Industry to gain experience."

"Then I wish you success in your official career."

Wu Zhaosong shook his head and said, "Fusheng is still living in the Jia family now?"

"Yes."

Accompanied by the sound of the well being dug, the two wandered in the side garden.Then Wu Zhaosong asked: "What are your plans after the resurrection of Qiu Wei?"

"Students haven't thought about this yet."

"It's time to think about it." Wu Zhaosong said: "After resurrection, will we know that there are three avenues to heaven in this officialdom?"

Li Weijian knew that Wu Zhaosong wanted to teach him, so he quickly bowed and said, "Please give me some advice."

"Well, the first rule is to follow the noble path. First enter the Hanlin Academy and spend a few years there, and then transfer to a ministry position, or to the Inspectorate, and keep your private ethics. With your reputation, you can do it in 20 years He is a court official. As for whether he can join the cabinet, it depends on luck."

After a pause, he took a few steps forward and said: "But this road is blocked now. Strong generals are sent to the army, prime ministers are born in the state department, and saints now select cabinet ministers with special emphasis on practicality. I think I know this second road to resurrection. ”

"Yes."

"The third one is the inner palace -" he stopped, looked at Li Weijian with a smile, and said, "-the one who takes the shortcut route is lucky!"

Note [-]: When Xiuyan had to pawn his clothes because of lack of money, he sent them to the Xue family's "Heng Shu Dian" pawn shop on Gulou West Street.

When Qin Keqing died, Xue Pan sold longevity materials.

No. 40 Chapter [-], when Xue Pan was beaten by Liu Xianglian, in order to hide his shame, he had to go out to do business.Zhang Dehui, an old friend of the family, told him: "There is a shortage of paper towels and spices this year, and they will be expensive next year... I will sell some paper bags and incense fans along the way."

It shows that longevity utensils and spices are both in business.However, it involves longevity wood and is related to the inner government. The Xue family is probably responsible for the royal wood purchase.

No. 70 Chapter [-], when Mrs. Wang wanted to prepare Menstruation Yangrong Pills for Wang Xifeng, she needed two taels of high-quality ginseng. Mrs. Wang couldn't find it everywhere, and was about to ask Zhou Rui's family to buy it. Xue Baochai said: "Auntie, stay here... ...The people in our shop often trade with Shenxing. Now I went to talk to my mother and asked my brother to ask the clerk to go over and discuss with Shenxing and ask him to exchange the uncut raw branches for two taels. …”

Explain that the Xue family deals in medicinal materials.

　Two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news.

　　Let’s talk about the bad stuff first. It seems that we can’t update it ten times a week because the editor has arranged that this book will be on the shelves on the [-]st of next month.I just had a chat with the editor Luo Tuo, and he suggested that updates should be stabilized.

　　I will add more updates depending on the situation. In this way, the public version will have about 26-28 words before it is put on the shelves, which can be regarded as feedback to you.Well, this is also good news.

　　Another good news is that next week, San Jiang! ! !

　　Thank you gentlemen for your perseverance, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)